It's hard out there for a sequel. The makers of "22 Jump Street" are as aware of that as anyone. Not only do you have the expectations of fans working against you -- those same fans who showed up the first time in numbers big enough to make the sequel even possible -- but you've also got the pressure from the studio suits, who are eager to see similar receipts the second time around.

Here's the problem, though: A sequel is a tricky balancing act. On the one hand, those fans and those suits want something fresh and different. On the other, if you stray too far from the established blueprint, both will turn on you -- and fast.

Filmmakers tend to play it safe as a result, delivering more often than not a higher-budgeted but thinly disguised rehashing of the first film. ("Hangover II," anyone?) Rarely is anybody too terribly happy about it, either.

And so you've got to hand it to "22 Jump Street" directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller ("21 Jump Street," "The Lego Movie"), who are proving to be two of the more clever and imaginative filmmakers working in Hollywood at the moment. Their New Orleans-shot comedy sequel (opening Friday, June 13) acknowledges right off the bat that sequels are generally lame and repetitive -- and then it goes about giddily repeating almost the same story from the surprise 2012 hit "21 Jump Street.

Here's the crazy thing, though. Against all odds, it works. "22 Jump Street" does nothing to raise the bar over its predecessor. It does nothing to change the format. It does precious little even to change the plot. (This time, instead of being sent undercover to bust a high school drug ring, stars Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum -- returning to play bumbling officers Schmidt and Jenko -- are sent undercover to bust a collegiate drug ring.)

"22 Jump Street," in other words, is the rare sequel that lives up to its predecessor. Granted, it never quite exceeds "21 Jump Street," which -- as an out-of-the-blue comic riff on the 1980s TV police procedural of the same name -- had the element of surprise on its side conceptually. But it holds its own, becoming a film that is every bit as enjoyable -- and funny -- as its action-comedy predecessor.

That is something that is all too rare in a sequel.

It's a testament to, among other things, the appeal of the comic pairing of Hill and Tatum. Not only do they have a strong rapport that comes across wonderfully on-screen, but both also prove willing to do anything -- no matter how demeaning, no matter how humiliating -- in search of a laugh.

But the success of "22 Jump Street" is also a testament to Lord and Miller, who have a keen and subversive sense of humor that lends an edge to their brand of comedy. What's even more brilliant is that the ones being subverted this time aren't just the studios and filmmakers who are willing to crank out a crappy sequel in the name of all that is profitable. They subvert their audience, as well.

In one of the film's opening scenes, Nick Offerman -- playing Schmidt and Jenko's commanding officer -- rants about the duo's re-assignment, which functions as a thinly disguised and very meta rant about sequels. He rants about how disappointing follow-ups are. He rants about how they just repeat themselves, how they cost more and contribute little. He tells us that "22 Jump Street" is a dumb idea.

And then Lord and Miller proceed to give us exactly what Offerman warns against, poking fun at the whole exercise with winks and nods as they proceed to go about largely repeating themselves. So we get the same raunchy brand of so-stupid-it's-funny humor. We get the same sort of celebrity cameos that made the first one so much fun. We get a dash of emotion. Essentially we get the same movie, but in a different setting.

And fans of "21 Jump Street" should be satisfied. "22 Jump Street" is fun and it is funny -- even if the joke is ultimately on us.

There's something approaching genius in the fact Lord and Miller pull it off, poking their audience in the eye -- and, what's more, making them want a "23 Jump Street" by the time it's all done. (The first tongue-in-cheek reference to another sequel, in fact, comes within the film's first 20 minutes. They continue in a great closing-credits sequence that offers a riot of potential sequel possibilities.)

Of course, it helps to have Hill -- who co-wrote and co-produced this time -- along for the ride. He knows funny, and he knows how to make it come across on-screen. It also helps to have such a solid supporting cast, which includes rapper/actor Ice Cube returning as a hilariously angry police commander, but also the addition of Jillian Bell ("Eastbound & Down"), who just might be the film's breakout star, along with fellow newcomer Wyatt Russell.

Perhaps the biggest asset of "22 Jump Street," though is Lord and Miller who -- like Tatum and Hill -- are such longtime friends that they tend to finish each other's sentences. They are perfect, therefore, to shepherd this particular script, which -- in addition to the laughs (and the far more mediocre action sequences) -- gets an emotional boost out of the bromance between Schmidt and Jenko.

Often that relationship is played for laughs. (As they arrive at college, they both fall in with different crowds, threatening their bromance and leading to the predictable "breakup" scene.) But as with most Hill-penned scripts, there's a shred of emotional credibility to it, as "22 Jump Street" explores, at least cursorily, the nature of male friendships.

You know, just like "21 Jump Street" did. And like the inevitable "23 Jump Street" will. And "24 Jump Street" after that ...

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22 JUMP STREET3 stars, out of 5

Snapshot: An R-rated, New Orleans-shot comedy sequel about two bumbling cops who are assigned to go undercover as college students in the hopes of bringing down a drug ring.

What works: The chemistry between stars Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum goes a long way in what ends up being a funny and enjoyable ride.

What doesn't: It takes a few minutes to get going, and it probably goes on about 10 minutes too long.